Landscape Preservation Section－Conservation of Hsitorical Landscapes



Urbanization has spread rapidly since the end of WW Ⅱ - especially, suburban hills have become the main target of land developers since 1955, when such developers first began to take over the ancient cities of Kamakura, Nara and Kyoto. The year 1964 is known for the issues concerning the residential development of the hills of Narabigaoka in Kyoto and the hills adjacent to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu in Kamakura, which resulted in a nationwide consensus for the protection of ancient cities' landscapes. In addition, the then governors and mayors took action to preserve areas of historical and scenic significance: legislation at the insistence of House members resulted in the “Special Law for the Preservation of Historical Features in Ancient Capitals" and was enacted in 1966.

In accordance with the 1966 law, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has designated scenic areas of historical and scenic significance in the mountainous regions and their foothills to the north, east and west of the city center as Preservation Districts of Historical Landscape. The key part of these areas have been designated as Special Preservation Areas of Historical Landscape through city-planning procedures.
		Kinkakuji Special Preservation Areas This area is included Hidaridaimonji Okuribi

The surface area appointed as Preservation Districts of Historical Landscape and Special Preservation Areas of Historical Landscape were approximately 8,513 hectares in 1966 and 2,861 hectares in 1967. It should be noted that the May 1996 expansion of Special Preservation Areas of Historical Landscape has covered nearly all of the mountainsides embracing the Kyoto basin, including five mountains of the Gozan Okuribi (Bonfire festival) 　A preservation plan which serves as a basis for the city's initiative to preserve historical landscapes has been established for each Preservation District of Historical Landscape. Anyone who intends to make an alteration to the status quo within the designated areas must notify to the major in advance. Any action that goes against the objectives of the plan is restricted. In the Special Preservation Areas of Historical Landscape, any alteration to the status quo, except for actions intended for regular maintenance and management, is prohibited in principle.